by C. K. Rieke
Then he looked over to the side of the small bakery to his left, and locked eyes with a girl he'd seen many times before, but this time it was different. Her eyes met his, and as they stared into each other’s, and he felt a connection like he never had before. He'd grown up with the girl, although she was a few years younger than himself. She was a slim girl with long blond hair, it glowed in the soft sunlight. Her skin was tan and she wore a brightly-colored red and orange dress that hung to her heels and fell lightly across her shoulders. Her name was Ingrette.
"Janos!" He heard from down the road, and looked up to see his mother running towards him with a great smile. He dismounted the wagon and ran over to her and his father, although he was still thinking of Ingrette. They embraced a warming welcome back to Fur-lol. He introduced them to Brando, and they took them back for a warm home-cooked meal of braised brisket accompanied with cornbread and honey. They both licked their lips and drank liberally from a cask of a deep red wine.
They spent that night telling tales of their trip, and everyone listened intently to the stories, albeit slightly exaggerated, just as Janos liked it. The night rolled on with roaring fires, dancing and singing, all the while Janos couldn't shake the thoughts of Ingrette rolling around in his mind.
So, the following day, with his heady foggy and his mouth dry, he went out to find her. He looked in the bakery to find she wasn't there, and walked down to the end of town, where the scattered cobblestone road met the long rows of grapes under the soft sunlight, and there he found her.
He walked up to her casually, and she turned to meet his eyes, and then she turned back to look out at the orchards.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she said.
He stood next to her and looked over at her, "Yes, I've missed it."
"Did you find what you were looking for? Out there in the world? I've never been past Auracity."
"No, I found everything I need here," he said. She looked over at him with a smile that warmed his heart.
"What is it you needed here?" she asked, and looked back out to the clouds floating slowly past the golden sun.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked.
"Sure, I think I'd like that," she said.
So, that day they walked out into the rolling fields for hours, reminiscing about their time growing up together in their small town. He told his stories of his travels out in Dillengrad, his meeting of the stranger with the blue eyes, his time on the ships and in Fallon's Break, and his journey back home. Their walk ended with a kiss as he led her back to her house, and he left back for his place. That night, alone in his bed with soft linens and a crisp breeze floating through his open window, he felt as though he'd found what he'd been looking for all his life.
***
A mere three months later, on a sunny day with light rain, Janos and Ingrette were married. The people of Fur-lol considered it lucky to have rain on a wedding, and the whole town had shown to witness their union. Ingrette wore a long, silky white dress, and had lively lilacs in her blond hair, flowing down her shoulders. She was the most beautiful, exquisite thing he'd ever seen.
With the end of their vows, they kissed, and the crowd roared. They danced and laughed the night away with endless rows of delicious foods and sweet pastries, and various libations pouring freely. He was in love, and the feeling of the love being reciprocated was indescribably overwhelming to him.
This is it, Janos, you've done it. You've found the one—the one to spend the rest of your life with. I never need to go off to search for anything ever again.
Two years later, almost to the day, Ingrette gave birth to a boy. He was a boy with thick, black hair like his father's.
"What should we name him?" she asked.
"What do you want to name him?" he asked.
"We could name him after my great-grandfather Ezekial," she said.
"That's nice, but how about another one," he said.
"How about . . . Zaan?"
Janos looked down at his first-born son, and touched his head softly as the baby tried to open his eyes, and began to cry. "Zaan? I like Zaan."
"Zaan Talabard," she said as she kissed his head. "You'll grow to be a strong man, just like your father."
Zaan, I'll raise you to be strong and humble, just like the figure back in the mountains said. But I pray to the Forgotten Gods that you may grow to live a normal, fulfilled life, but if you wish to venture out into the world, may you find others to help you like Brando helped me. Life can be thrilling, dangerous, and mysterious. May you find a way to live the way you want to live, and know that you'll always have us to love you. Zaan Talabard, my son.
The End
The Father of Zaan is the short story intro to the fantasy series the Path of Zaan. To continue reading, click on the links below.
You can get free sample chapters at
CKRieke.com
The Road to Light
The Path of Zaan: Book I (2016)
The Crooked Knight
The Path of Zaan: Book II (2017)
The Devil King
The Path of Zaan: Book III
(Coming 2017)
Man of the Arr
A Path of Zaan Tale
(Coming 2017)
